Armageddon Time Review: James Grays ComingofAge 80s Drama Proves Unsatisfying
Post Armageddon Time Review: James Gray's '80s drama Proven Unsatisfactory made its first appearance in Consequence.
This review is part of the 2022 New York Film Festival.
Pitch: Out-of-town veteran James Gray takes us back into his Queens past in Armageddon Time , a semi-autobiographical maturity drama (though he says he's not aiming for that genre; more on that later).
The film tells the story of 12-year-old artist Paul Graff (Banks Repeta) who struggles at school, befriends his classmate Johnny (Jaylin Webb) and clashes with his parents Irving (Jeremy Strong) and Esther (Anne Hathaway). and finds solace in the love of his grandfather (Anthony Hopkins). 1980 presidential election in the background; At one point, just talking about the election, kids at an impromptu luxury private school sing a song for Reagan before a rally by Mary Ann Trump (played in a cameo by Jessica Chastain).
Shining City on a Hill: If photos of the Reagan and Trump families weren't enough, Armageddon Time is far from a fun '80s nostalgia trip. . The speeches put an end to the panic of the late '70s and saw how they helped pave the way for capitalist surplus.
The Graffs seemed at least aware of these false statements—they all didn't believe it when Reagan rose—but like many middle-class white people, their judgments weren't always fair or nuanced. As a Jewish family, apart from conveying mixed racial messages in their daily lives, they understand American prejudice as anti-Semitic and, in theory, racism.
For example, Paul's grandfather encouraged the boy to confront his racist classmates at his new private school, and he reluctantly left because his grandfather pressured him to drop out of a "rotten" public school (read: less and less white). Gray tries to catch a fight between Paul, a 12-year-old capable of fantasy and teenage rebellion.
Armageddon Clock (Focus Feature)
Imitation of Life: This endeavor is also typical of the grandiose ambitions seen in Grey's intimate films. (His latest film sent Brad Pitt into space to solve his father's problems.) The results here are also generally uneven, with a mind-boggling sense of reality that never quite engages with impressionistic memory, another kind of Gray to portray the character. Situations are generally believable, but often unbelievable from scene to scene.
If Irving and Esther's shrewdness, care, and racism often alternate, is it Gray's dramatization of life's contradictions or an unsatisfactory imitation? It's more like the latter, especially considering how many other details seem uneven. For example, Paul has a narrower goal of acting as a public school teacher, a ruthless rival, but that doesn't make sense: he chooses Johnny as a troublemaker because of the boy's race, and constantly beats him and Johnny. Paul still doesn't notice the boys taking class trips in the middle of the day?
It was Johnny who suffered the most from Grey's overall story. His quick friendship with Paul was sweet, and the young actors conveyed it well, so it took Gray a while to realize he hadn't fully accepted Johnny's experience as a young black man, and it wasn't contagious to him. . Incredible depth through Paul's eyes. More than any of Gray's creations, Johnny's presence feels like a writer's comfort.
Gray completes his sketched plot with slow dialogue befitting an actor of the caliber of Anthony Hopkins. Unfortunately, the only cast member is Anthony Hopkins, who does a great job as Paul's lovable grandfather and makes Gray shiver in a very natural, even poetic way.
Anne Hathaway also does a good, solid job as Esther, but she works alongside her husband, who plays Jeremy Strong, and they work as a team. Their big scene together falls prey to Paul's perspective rather than listening to a more concrete relationship. Armageddon Time grabs your attention not by stringing together spectacular scenes, but by hoping that its best moments lead to something bigger.
Verdict: A lot of Gray fans will probably love Armageddon Time and it might even appeal to a more neutral audience who will respond to a non-nostalgic look at a pivotal (and not very auspicious) moment in United States history.
But those who find the film less expressive than the idea behind it sometimes rest here. During this press conference, Gray described the project as a kind of ghost story from his past. Unfortunately, this quality stands out more in Darius Khondji's dark and impressive cinematography than in the rest of the film.
Where to watch: Armageddon Time launches October 28 in a limited release.
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Armageddon Time review: James Gray's future 80's drama unleashes discontent
Jesse Hassenger
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